Regrets & Revenge (Foster Family Book 2)

by Zavi James

  “Everything’s great,” I replied, unable to keep the grin from my face. “Do you want to meet him?”

  “Yes!”

  I motioned at him to follow me and we walked back into the room where Mia was speaking in hushed tones to our sleepy child.

  “Holy fuck,” Dante breathed when he saw them.

  “D!” Mia scolded, looking up.

  “Sorry! Sorry!”

  I chuckled at Dante’s slip of the tongue. Toning down the language was going to be an adjustment and I wasn’t entirely sure it would be a promise that we could keep.

  Dante left my side to join Mia. “Congratulations, boss,” he said, kissing her cheek. He then turned back to me and pulled me into a hug. A proper hug. “Charlie would be so fucking proud of you. Congratulations, bro. Next generation!”

  “Would you like to hold him?” Mia asked, as we moved apart. Dante nodded eagerly and sat on the edge of the bed before Mia handed over our bundle of joy. His eyes became glassy with tears. “Baby boy,” Mia said, running her finger over his soft hair. “This is your Godfather, Dante.”

  “Don’t listen to a single word he says,” I chimed in.

  “You listen to everything I say,” Dante cut in quickly. “When your parents don’t let you do something, come and find me.”

  Mia shook her head. “Don’t even think about it, D.”

  He laughed and looked down at his Godson. “So, little man, have they given you a name yet?”

  “Do you want to tell him, babe?” Mia asked. Mia and I had decided on a name earlier as we held him. I’d even relented to her request of a middle name when she told me what she wanted it to be. Dante looked up at me expectantly.

  “Meet Lincoln Charles Foster.”

  Chapter Forty

  Mia

  “Bet you’ll be glad to get home,” Luc said, as he took a seat on the edge of the bed.

  “Hospitals have always made me uneasy,” I admitted to him. “I just want to get him settled at home.” My index finger brushed across the chubby cheek of my child.

  Lincoln Charles Foster. I couldn’t stop looking at him. For nine months I’d grown this tiny life inside of me, unsure of what would happen when he arrived, and now that he was here, I was completely besotted. A mixture of myself and Luc in a tiny bundle of perfection. His arrival only confirmed that I would do everything in my power to keep him safe. Although, I wasn’t sure how I’d get anything done when I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Finally, I looked up to see Maria at the doorway, holding onto Dom. “Is he here?” she asked, ignoring Luc.

  “Get out.”

  “Luc,” I said to him. “I asked her to come and meet her grandson.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked, looking at me. Luc was the one used to being in control. He was the one who called the shots, and I was the one who followed his lead, but this time I needed to take the reins.

  “Your mother has agreed to help me with arranging some events for the family. She just wants to be a part of her grandson’s life. Link’s not exactly rich in grandparents.”

  Luc had caught on to the compromise that I’d struck with Maria. This wasn’t a deal he had bargained; this was all down to me and my honor code and I intended to keep my word. “Next time I’d appreciate some warning.”

  “Where is he?” Maria asked. She’d stepped into the room and Dom had helped her settle into a chair.

  “I’m going to grab some coffee,” Dom told us, realizing the need for privacy. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

  Luc carefully lifted Link out of his bed and crossed over to his mom. I watched from the bed as he placed Link into her arms, staying close by due to her unsteadiness. “He is beautiful,” Maria breathed and pressed a kiss to his head.

  “Lincoln,” Luc informed her. “We call him Link.”

  “Lincoln,” she repeated and then looked up at Luc. “I am proud of you.”

  Luc may not have been impressed with my decision to invite Maria back into our lives, but watching the three of them now, it was a decision I could live with. Both of my parents had left us, and Charlie would never get the chance to meet his grandson, so this was just as much for Link as it was for Maria.

  “What a touching family picture.” Xavier stood at the door with Emilia beside him and I felt myself pale.

  “Xavier,” Luc said, rising from his seat and taking Link with him. “We requested no visitors.”

  When Luc had broken the news to everyone, I’d asked him to add a note saying we would see everyone soon enough. I was tired after giving birth and not quite ready to share Link with the rest of the world. Those we considered immediate family had been the only exception, but Xavier didn’t seem to want to adhere to the rules we’d set out.

  His eyes flitted between the three adults in the room and I felt my heart in my throat. Maria being in the same room as myself and Luc was cause for suspicion when we knew his dirty secret.

  “It’s been a while, Maria,” Emilia said, and Luc’s mom gave a curt nod.

  “It would have been sooner if you’d attended Stefan’s funeral.”

  “Unfortunately, there was a clash in my calendar. I’m sure you’d understand that family always comes first.” Emilia was making the point that Stefan wasn’t one of them, but it felt like a low blow. Like the death of Maria’s youngest was an inconvenience that had cropped up in Emilia’s schedule and so she’d chosen to overlook it.

  Emilia split away from her husband and pulled me into a hug, kissing both of my cheeks. “Congratulations, Mia. How are you feeling?”

  “Thank you,” I said to her. “I’m okay. Tired more than anything.”

  “You’ll feel that way for the next eighteen years. Trust me.” She offered half a smile. “I’m always happy to lend a helping hand. You’ll probably be grateful for it at the start, especially considering Maria’s condition.” Another swipe at my future mother in law. There was no love lost between these two.

  “I’m sure Luc and I will manage. You forget we have Lydia with us.”

  “Little Griffin-Foster,” Xavier said, looking at my baby in Luc’s arms. It was my educated guess that Luc had only managed to stay as calm as he had because he was holding Link.

  “Foster,” Luc corrected him.

  “Sorry?”

  “Just Foster.”

  “I thought Mia may have wanted to preserve her father’s memory in some way,” Xavier said, casting a look my way. It felt like a kick in the gut. I loved my Dad, but he deserved to rest in peace. Keeping his name alive in a world that he’d been so vehemently against me joining didn’t feel like the correct way to honor his memory.

  “My Dad was a traditionalist at heart,” I told him. “He’d have expected both of us to take Luc’s name.”

  “I’m sure Charlie would have been happy to hear that. May I hold him?”

  Luc didn’t even flinch. If he had reservations about handing over our new-born, it didn’t show. Xavier took Link into his arms and I held my breath. Father, son and grandson. Three generations standing in the same room should have brought a sense of pride and joy but all it did was make me want to snatch my baby away.

  “So innocent when they’re this young,” Xavier commented as Link began to fuss. “No idea of the world around them or what it holds.”

  “If only they could stay that way,” Maria added.

  At that moment, Link decided to exercise his lungs. They say that babies have a sixth sense, and if it was true it was good to see Link was just as untrusting of Xavier as I was. “Sounds like he needs his mother,” Xavier said, crossing over to the bed and handing Link over to me. Adjusting Link, I started rocking him gently. Every time he cried, my heart squeezed painfully wanting to put right whatever had upset him. “I take it you’ll be taking a step back from work for a little while?” The question was aimed at Luc.

  “I’ll be working from home for a week or two,” Luc answered him. It
was the first I’d heard but I was glad Luc would be around as we took on parenthood. “Everything else will be handled by Dante.”

  “Are you sure that’s a smart move?”

  “He hasn’t let me down yet. You should put more faith in your future son-in-law.”

  Xavier sniffed. The match between Dante and Vittoria was obviously not one that he was keen on. Not that it would matter in the long run. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he said distractedly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. “I’ll need to take this. Congratulations to you both.” He then turned to me. “We’ll be sure to raise a glass to you and your little one tonight, Mia.” As Xavier and Emilia left, all I could think was how much I’d like him to choke on that drink.

  We sat for a while in silence, Link finally drifting off to sleep, and none of us daring to speak until we knew for sure it was safe to do so.

  “She always did think she was better than everyone else,” Maria muttered eventually.

  “I thought you two were friends,” I said, leaning back on the bed.

  “Me and Emilia? No. She could take a long walk off a short cliff for all I cared.”

  I bit back on a laugh as Luc shook his head. “I appreciate you showing some self-restraint while she was here.”

  “I lead by example. I’m surprised at how you both handled that. I half expected you to kick him out of the room.”

  “There’s a bigger picture,” Luc said, looking to us. “I’m not going to do anything that puts them at risk. If we do this, then we’ll need to do this properly. We’ve only got one shot.”

  Chapter Forty One

  Mia

  Life with a baby was in stark contrast to the life I’d lived before. Before Link I had been inherently selfish and frivolous with my time, and now everything revolved around my son. Sleep had become a myth, worry had settled permanently in my chest, and the love I felt for my boys bloomed so vividly that it threatened to consume me entirely. Luc and Link were an inseparable duo and at times I found myself irrationally jealous of the bond they shared.

  For the past few weeks, we’d been finding our feet as new parents. Dante had taken on more of the work to allow Luc time to be at home with me and Link, and slowly we’d slipped into a new routine of feeds and changes and naps. Thanksgiving had been a quiet affair: just the four of us and a catered dinner. I didn’t have the energy to argue with Luc about how we should have made the effort ourselves.

  With everything settled, we’d organized a sip and see for everyone to meet Link properly. His introduction to the family was gearing up to be one of the most highly anticipated events in the social calendar. Our house had been lavished with expensive bouquets of flowers, and Link’s nursery filled with clothes and gifts. It would be a hard task to keep my son grounded and humble if this was how he was being treated before he could walk and talk.

  “Mia!” Luc’s voice carried through the house.

  “I’m coming!” I gave myself one last look in the mirror. Pregnancy had made me a little more self-conscious about my body. It had stretched and molded to house my baby and now he was with us, I bore all the evidence of his tenancy. My pants sat snug against my stomach and I pulled my jacket on before walking out of the room, heels clicking as I walked along the hallways and down the stairs.

  Luc was waiting in the foyer, dressed head to toe in black with Link’s carrier in one hand. He wore fatherhood like a designer three-piece. I’d maintained there was nothing that could make Luc more attractive than he already was, but when I saw him bonding with Link, loving our son with his all, I fell harder than ever.

  “Eyes back in your head, pervert,” Luc said with a smirk as I flushed red from being caught. “We don’t have the time for that unless you wouldn’t mind running late.”

  “We are not turning up late. That’s not the image we’re trying to portray, remember?” I sidled up to them and Luc wrapped an arm around my waist and gave me a kiss that set me on fire. When we broke apart, I looked down into the carrier to check on Link. “Luc!” I said, on seeing my son. “I gave you one job. You needed to get him dressed.”

  “I got him dressed.”

  “As a dinosaur.”

  Luc grinned at me and I looked at my poor son, sound asleep in a dinosaur onesie, complete with hat. At the moment there was a distinct difference between how we dressed Link. I had a host of cute and formal outfits while Luc and Dante seemed content with playing dress up, transforming Link into dinosaurs and bears. That was how Link had earned his nickname of Cub, because Dante and Tori had gifted him a bear suit, which was still a bit big for him to sport yet.

  “You never clarified what to dress him in.”

  “Next time I’ll give you written instructions,” I grumbled. Luc dotted a kiss on my forehead and we left the house.

  The venue had been professionally decorated in baby blues and silvers for the first event that I would formally host for the entire family. Long gone were my days of penny pinching and homemade décor. Luc had money and I was expected to use it to impress all and sundry. In between night time feeds, I’d signed off on emails regarding bows and table settings. It almost pained me to admit the entire place looked better than anything I could have conjured, and it had been money well spent.

  Franco stood at the door, sullen faced on his first official order from me. He was here at my request because I didn’t want Luc, Dante or any of the others to have a worry. If Franco had been given to me for security, then he could do the job he was assigned for. He followed silently as we made our way through the function hall, checking everything was in place.

  “They’ve done a wonderful job.” Luc and I both looked up to see Maria being escorted in by Dante. The event planners had been the same ones that she had once used, although the ownership and management had been passed down to younger members of the family. Maria had dressed up for the occasion and walked as steadily as she could toward us. Her eyes lit up as they fell on Link and I pulled him out from where he was nestled. Wide awake, Link’s bright blue eyes drank me in as I walked over to her.

  “Let me see him,” she said, eager to get a hold of her grandson again.

  I could feel Luc’s presence looming behind me. If he had been imposing before, it had only gotten worse since our son arrived. Whenever we were in the same room, I could feel the burn of his stare as he watched us, almost as if he was waiting to swoop in if something happened. His mistrust in everyone had grown, and considering our last visit to Maria had led to heated exchanges, I wasn’t surprised that he was on edge.

  Champagne flowed freely as curious guests entered the room, some bearing gifts for our cub. I’m sure Link sensed that the entire event was for him, because I’d never seen my baby boy so well behaved.

  “He’s beautiful, Mia. May I hold him?” Katia asked. I was less than eager to approve of this request, but Luc had started to work with Jonah again and Katia had sent a rather large stuffed hippo to welcome Link to the world. It sat in the corner of the room and seemingly had Cerb’s approval, since it hadn’t been torn to shreds yet.

  “Of course.” Carefully, I placed Link in her arms, and she beamed down at him.

  “You know,” she said quietly, “Jonah and I are hoping to start a family soon.”

  Rosalie gasped. “You never said.”

  “Yes, well, we weren’t sure, but a little one added to the family would be perfect.”

  “They’re a lot of work,” I warned her. “Constant need for attention.”

  “No different from our husbands then,” Katia muttered, making me snort. “And you seem to be dealing with it well enough. I can’t imagine looking so good weeks after having a baby.” Laid on a little too thick, but I accepted the compliment. Katia’s attitude had changed significantly since her apology at the wedding reception. Who would have thought a little cold shoulder would be the way to get someone to warm up to you?

  “What about you, Vittoria?” Rosalie asked. Tori looked up and arched an eyebro
w. “Are we expecting any news from you?”

  “News?” Tori asked coolly. “Like the dress from the latest Dolce line finally arrived?”

  “Nooo.” Rosalie drew out the word and then held up her left hand and wiggled her ring finger.

  The pink splashed across Tori’s cheekbones. “You’d have to ask Dante and Dad about that. It all depends on if they can see eye to eye.”

  I’d learned how to ignore the guilt. It still appeared, still demanded to be felt when Dante and Tori joined us for dinner or when Tori would call for a casual catch up or to complain about her boyfriend. I couldn’t rid myself of the emotion, but I had figured out how to push it away and justify the actions we were taking.

  “I don’t suppose you know anything, Mia.” Tori rarely softened; her edges were sharp, dressed designer to make her more palatable, but as she asked the question, she looked almost bashful and the guilt threatened to swallow me.

  “He hasn’t mentioned anything.” I took Link from Katia’s arms. “Maybe it’s time to start dropping hints.”

  “You know how oblivious he is,” Tori mumbled.

  I hummed and said, “I’m just going to find Luc.” A round of quick kisses, then I walked away from the group and found it easier to breathe. Luc spotted us and held out a hand and I gratefully walked to his side. “Can you take Link for a few minutes?”

  “Sure. Is everything okay? You look a little flushed.”

  “I’m fine.” Reaching up, I kissed him and handed Link over. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Dom,” Luc said, looking across the circle. “Go with her.”

  “I have Franco.”

  Luc shot me a look. He didn’t trust Franco. It was fine for him to watch and follow me when I was in a room full of people that could witness any foul play, but not if I was about to walk out of this room alone.